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The assignment that follows has been written by, and is entirely the work of, Andy Greece Be the Change, a personal reflection. It is doubtless that the path of learning of every individual begins through the basic and compulsory schooling that each member of society is set to receive in his or her early years. My primary and secondary school years played a pivotal role in my formation. I attended a private school, and likewise, any extra curricular activities I took part in, particularly when it came to sport were held in a private manner, in a mall group if not individually.
After having completed sixth form, I had already set my sights on the undergraduate degree in Physical Education offered by the University of Malta. Perhaps being at University, and for the first time, in an entirely separate class and group to the peers I had spent much of my earlier years with, brought with it the realization, that society was essentially composed of different people, and that being sheltered within a group of peers that I had known since my first years of school meant that my undergraduate degree would be my first experience of mingling with other students from different backgrounds, from government and church schools.
Luckily, it is in my nature to look beyond petty differences in background, and yet, even with a nature as non-judgmental as mine, I came to understand that a difference in background does in reality make for a difference in social values. Even though society is very segmented, there’s a responsibility to reach out to those pockets of society that are less served. (Bartenders and Gardner, 2004). It is no secret, at least within my society, that children in public schools, even if they themselves are tot victims of social problems, are witnesses to the troubles of their peers some of whom are subject to economic, family and abuse problems.
This is not to say that such a reality is not also true within private schools, yet it is a far more likely occurrence in public schools. Perhaps one of the main challenges and learning experiences of my undergraduate course was the teaching placement that I had to carry out in public schools. One of my placements was in fact centered within the problem’ class Walton sun a cocoons, winner all my students were experiencing some social troubles.
I entered my course determined to help out such children, this however, was not always as easy as I anticipated it to be. My first teaching experience thus was a bittersweet one. It was positive in that it truly helped me to understand the challenge involved in teaching, but adapting to it, learning from my mistakes and understanding the needs of my students and particularly, grasping the chasm between what we learnt in lecture halls and what could only be learnt through experience, was far from easy.
I reflected over what I learnt during those demanding six weeks, over the summer, I spoke it out with my tutor, carried out my own research and I practiced my teaching pedagogies at every given opportunity. It is safe to say that throughout my placement it was not merely the nights long of preparation that allowed for my teaching experience to be a success, but it was the emotional element I put into my work, that made all the difference. Throughout my teaching practice I was able to experience trying situations that necessitated patience and compassion.
Slowly but surely, I began to develop an interest in these children who were often times misunderstood and neglected. I came to feel that although I was teaching these students, and spent so much time amongst them, I had never experienced what went on in their lives after school. In a likewise manner any an entrepreneur who sets off on a social venture, may listen and ask, but is scarcely ever be made to experience the reality of the scenario of such a society. It is thus that I believe human centered design to be the best method to accomplish social change.
If a social entrepreneur were to experience what a community experiences and live with their constraints, then perhaps such entrepreneur could possibly bridge the gap between failure of the organization and social change, help the local community or a community abroad, reach the organization’s targets and possibly aid the expansion of the organization. Fortunately, Malta does not suffer from the extreme poverty akin to that of a number of the countries I have read about throughout this course, however, several other matters do call for national attention.
Yet, Malta unfortunately still lacks the knowledge and fails to see the extensive benefits of social entrepreneurship. However through technology and the Internet the concept is slowly becoming more vastly accepted. Greg Des from Duke University holds that the main aspect of social entrepreneurship is continuous learning and adaptation. Society evolves and changes all the time, and for several reasons, however, it is up to us to adapt the way we approach these scenarios.
I have come to learn that in order to achieve social change, any entity charged with the responsibility of aiding a troubled facet of society has to demonstrate its impact on society; citing Des, social entrepreneurship is about IMPACT not growth. Such impact is not only brought about by Nags, and charities, but very often, by a Joint effort of businesses and governments too. Governments malign nylon Atlanta Ana ameliorative power, Ana an tidally to plan and execute such plans; however, such an entity lacks the freedom of an independent entrepreneur.
It is thus reasonably important that each organization should have clear values. Ultimately, such permanence in belief is bound to aid the endless struggle to find investors for the organization. It is worthwhile to note that Spanish Banks like Trios Bank or Friars only finance projects with a certain social objective behind them, the banks will fund initiatives, which focus only on the social benefits, rather than the economic benefits. I believe that through crowd funding, individuals worldwide can share their expertise, knowledge, as well as their resources to provide funding for projects.
Kava is a very interesting model and one of great interest to me. This organization has not only helped over 1 million socially normalized individuals, but has also educated over 450 persons the world over, offering the opportunity to such people to put their skills and effort into micromanage. Such an initiative entails that such an individual hare his insights, pictures and stories from the field itself. Without any economic sustainability no organization will be able to function, let alone be successful.
Yet, an annual turnover is not the most important objective of a social aiding organization, social impact should be its primary concern. It is constitute to highlight, therefore, that at the basis of social entrepreneurship lie the principles of entrepreneurship itself, and thus, the innovation required by the latter cannot be done away with. Not many might have the will power and entrepreneurial qualities to make a large impact on society, however, I am of the idea, that one need not necessarily be an entrepreneur to display understanding of the concept of social entrepreneurship.
My experience as a teacher has helped me to understand this, and it is thus, that I can conclude that one need not have any expertise, but rather an understanding of social necessity and social impact, coupled with an inspiration to make a difference, in order for one to be the change [one] wishes to see in the world.